TROOPS: NEW YORK - A Spectre Returns
by KenSNJ
Summary: Ezra Bridger returns from his journey with the Purrgil after being sent through time and joins the Jedi Order of Earth in New York as the growing threat of the First Order and the shadow of The Dark Side loom over everyone.
1. Chapter 1

**I own nothing except a few characters and the plot.**

 **TROOPS: NEW YORK**

 **A Spectre Returns**

An escape pod had crashed in Upstate New York. The pod's lone occupant was a young human male who was removed by an ambulance that had been called by the local Police Department while the Fire Department hosed down the pod and surrounding area. A detective had looked at the man before checking out the pod.

"Anything that resembles an ID on the occupant?"

"Nothing in there."

"Tell the hospital to have him sent down to the city. Care of General Felth's Office." The detective said and returned to his car. There was nothing more for him to do except write his report.

* * *

 **NEW YORK, NEW YORK**

"I want that freak out of here." An Imperial Navy Commander snapped at General Tevin Felth.

"Radar. Get Corporal Klinger in here." Tevin said. A minute later the Corporal arrived wearing a floor-length gown and carrying a blaster rifle with a purse hanging off the barrel.

"Klinger, that blaster makes me nervous. So does the outfit." He turned to the commander.

"Let's have it Titus. What's wrong with Klinger?" Titus was incensed by Tevin's laid-back attitude about the situation.

"What's wrong with Klinger? An Imperial Soldier stands in your office wearing an evening gown and you ask what's wrong with him?"

"I'll admit. He should shave his chest or stop wearing low-cut and straps."

"This is formalwear." The Corporal said.

"This freak is bucking for a psycho discharge, and I want you to help him get it."

"Loomis will never sign it. Cross-dressing is not a mental disorder in this city. You can transfer out if you want. I'm sure a trash dump would work for a man of your talents."

"I can take this to someone else."

"Who? It's gonna find its way back to me anyway. You're just wasting your time and mine. Now to avoid the inevitable arguement. Commander Titus, DISMISSED!" Titus huffed and stormed out of the office followed by Klinger passing Radar as he did.

"Sir, an escape pod crashed upstate. The occupant is being brought down for Medical and to find out who the person is."

"When the paper comes in, give it to Colonel Walertin." Tevin said and looked for something in his desk.

"You ran out yesterday after Commander Titus threw a fit over something else."

"The asprin?"

"Yes, Sir. I'll get you some more." Radar said and left.

* * *

The occupant of the escape pod was brought to the Medical Ward and put in a private room where Max Walertin was waiting to question him. Max noted that the young man seemed a bit defiant and hoped that he wouldn't be difficult.

"What's your name?" Max asked.

"Jabba the Hutt."

"Really? I find that strange since Jabba the Hutt's been dead for about 35 years." Max began typing something into the tablet he was holding.

"I hope you're the only one to even think of using that as an alias." At that moment, Obi-Wan Kenobi entered the room.

"Max, perhaps I can talk to this young man."

"Fine with me. Maybe you'll get somewhere." Max left the room carrying the tablet with him. Obi-Wan turned to the young man.

"Welcome to Earth, Ezra Bridger. We've been expecting you." He said and smiled.


	2. Chapter 2

**I own nothing except a few characters and the plot.**

 **TROOPS: NEW YORK**

 **A Spectre Returns**

 **NEW YORK, NEW YORK**

"Do I know you?" Ezra asked.

"We met on Tatooine once." Ezra thought for a moment and then it clicked.

"Master Kenobi. How did I end up here?"

"The Force sent you here like it did to me and Master Skywalker." Ezra cringed at the mention of Skywalker. This did not go unnoticed by Obi-Wan.

"Anakin is no longer under the influence of a Sith Lord. However, his grandson is and this one is a persistant one. Only fitting since he was Maul's master at one point. You are one of only two people in the galaxy to say no to him. The other is Anakin's son. Darth Sidious attacked Anakin's son and forgot the reason Anakin had joined him in the first place. Anakin threw Sidious down the Second Death Star's reactor care and saved his son redeeming himself in the process." Obi-Wan explained.

"How long will I be here?" Ezra asked.

"This room? I do not know. That is up to your doctor and then General Felth. On Earth? This is going to be your new home. You have a purpose here."

"General Felth?" Ezra asked confused.

"You've been out of touch for so long that events have transpired in which you have no knowledge of. The Empire you know no longer exists. If you see a man wearing a dress around here, know that he is a Corporal and it is somewhat normal. I'm sure General Felth will introduce himself to you eventually. I have to go make sure Anakin or Joshua haven't tried to put our Jedi Code through a paper shredder again and tell General Felth about you assuming Jabba the Hutt didn't match something in their system." Obi-Wan said and left. Ezra stared at the ceiling when another person entered the room. This one was a teenager with dark hair.

"Hi, I'm Josh. Josh Myers, my dad basically runs the military." He said.

"I'm Jabba." Ezra said prompting Josh to laugh.

"That's not your real name. One, you're not fat. Two, you're not a woman trying to squeeze her Staten Island Ferryboat sized foot into a shoe that's the size of a city cab and then throwing a fit when it doesn't fit. So, who are you really?"

"You got me. Ezra Bridger, Jedi of some sort." Josh smiled and Ezra could tell it was a friendly smile.

"Welcome to New York."

* * *

Tevin was chatting with Max about Max's failed interview with Ezra.

"He's not Jabba the Hutt." Max said as he followed Tevin from the office's small kitchen back to Tevin's office.

"What did our computer say when you put that in as an alias?"

"No matches found. So whoever he is, either he's got no record or someone thinks he's either dead or missing." They entered Tevin's office.

"Oh kriff." Tevin said. Sitting in his chair reading a file was Colonel Thompson of the US Army's Intelligence Division or the CIA depending on who you asked.

"Don't you knock when you enter a room?"

"Thompson, how did you get in here?"

"That's classified."  
"Radar!" Tevin called.

"Yes, sir?" The Sergeant said as he appeared behind Max.

"Hey! I was just sitting by the main elevators. How did you get in here?"

"The freight elevator or the stairs." Max said sarcastically.

"I want to talk about the occupant of that escape pod, Felth. And don't play dumb. You're not as good at it as I am."

"Guy has no ID on him and the only name he gave us was Jabba the Hutt." Tevin said.

"You mean I worked over someone for nothing."

"You realize you would have just tanked a criminal case doing that if this was one."

"Thompson, this doesn't concern you, the CIA, or whoever it is you work for this week." Tevin stated clearly trying to keep calm.

"I want to talk to the prisoner." Thompson said.

"One, he's not a prisoner and two, you're not going near anyone in this building without my permission." Thompson pulled out a piece of paper.

"What is that?" Max asked.

"His permission." Thompson pointed at Tevin who snapped his fingers which summoned a pair of Death Troopers.

"This man is leaving the building and is not to be readmitted. Tell downstairs if they let him back in, they'll be court-martialed." The troopers grabbed Thompson and dragged him away. Tevin turned to Max.

"Something else?"

"Master Kenobi stopped by as I was leaving. Maybe our guest felt more comfortable talking with him."

"You want me to go get Master Kenobi." Radar said before Tevin was able to speak.

* * *

Josh was still chatting with Ezra when Obi-Wan and Tevin entered Ezra's room.

"Joshua, isn't there someplace else you can be?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Dad's at another First Order related meeting. This guy said he was a Hutt."

"We know. Go bother Commander Titus and take Klinger with you." Tevin told Josh who ran off. Both Ezra and Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow.

"Tell me he wasn't an Admiral once. By the way, Ezra Bridger. Josh was showing me pictures of what he said was a big-mouthed Hutt named Rosie." Ezra said.

"Tevin Felth. He was an Admiral until he let pirates make off with a very expensive Interdictor. That got him busted down to Captain until he said the same group of pirates hijacked his Star Destroyer. That got hm busted down to Commander and reassigned here where he's been a pain in my butt about my resident cross-dresser. I suspect he gave those ships to the First Order, but I have no proof of it. Was there some reason you gave Max a bogus name?"

"I saw Stormtroopers and assumed I was being taken prisoner. It's in my Imperial Security Bureau file as an alias."

"Well, you're not a prisoner. I just ask that you properly introduce yourself to Max. It's the CIA you have to worry about, but I had the nutjob they supposedly sent here thrown out of the building and gave orders that he is not allowed back in. As soon as the doctor clears you and a few other details are worked out, you'll be out of this room. Also, the ISB and any other agencies that relate to it no longer exist. So, your ISB file is probably destroyed." Tevin explained as Ezra smiled before remembering what he wanted to ask Tevin and Obi-Wan.

"Can I get something to eat and what's a First Order?"

"I'll see what the doctor says about the first one and the second one is a terrorist group that made off with our property and holds onto the ideas of the Old Empire."Tevin left Ezra alone with Obi-Wan.

"I will discuss your status within our order with Anakin and Michael when they return from the meeting they are at. It is possible that you will be Knighted." He said and left as a C1 Series Astromech rolled into the room and began making noise at Ezra.

"How could you possibly know me?" Ezra asked without even looking at the droid. The droid picked up a boot and threw it hitting Ezra in the head. This caused Ezra to jog his memory.

"Ow, Chopper!" Ezra shouted and finally looked at the droid who had picked up a boot.

"Chopper? How did you end up here?" Chopper let out a series of noises.

"Yeah this planet does look primitive." A doctor and a nurse walked into the room before Chopper could throw the other boot at Ezra.

"General Felth said you were hungry and that he wanted to get you out of this room as soon as possible. You look okay, some minor nutritional issues that we can address just by getting food in you. The medics said you had no broken bones and we found none on your x-rays." The nurse checked Ezra's vital signs.

"Vital signs are within range." She said before noticing Chopper.

"What was this droid about to do with that boot?"

"Hit me with it like he did the other one."

"Out." The nurse said to Chopper and began chasing him out of the room.

"I'm going to let General Felth know he can do what he wants with you as soon as I get you some food. You can eat a normal diet." The doctor said as he wrote down a bunch of notes and discharge instructions on Ezra's chart. Within the next few hours, Ezra was given the food that had been ordered for him and moved to Tevin's office. A pair of Stormtroopers appeared with a person wearing a huge hat trying to cover their face.

"General, we caught this person trying to steal one of the cars out of the garage."

"I'll take it from here." The Stormtroopers left and Tevin turned to the person.

"Ok Klinger, what gives?"

"How did you know it was me?" The Corporal said in surprise.

"The locals know better then to try and make off with one of our vehicles. On top of that, you need a keycard to even get in the garage from the street. Which means, it had to be an inside job."

"I need to get out of this city for a while."

"I'll see what I can do. Dismissed." Klinger left while a bewildered look appeared on Ezra's face.

"Freak." Came the sound of Commander Titus who barged into the office without knocking.

"General are you aware that there is a card game being played in one of the meeting rooms?"

"I was told and invited to it. But, I'm still working on getting Ezra settled in." Titus turned to Ezra and then pulled his gun.

"Killing you would be a service to my family."

"I see you want to get demoted again just like your ancestor." Ezra said.

"Forget a demotion. That gun goes off, I'm having him court-martialed for careless weapons discharge or attempted murder while the evidence that he's a traitor is gathered. You really think I buy the stories of pirates being able to seize two capital ships? My kids tell better stories then that." Tevin said. Titus raised his weapon and Ezra reached out with The Force pushing Titus over a file cabinet which caused the Commander to lose his weapon and out the door. At that moment, Chopper wheeled over and grabbed Titus' weapon off the floor followed by Josh, another teenager who Ezra had never seen before, a pair of women, Radar, Klinger, a much older officer, and a pair of Death Troopers.

"Place Ensign Titus under arrest." The older officer said to the troopers who grabbed Titus and dragged him away.

"He was warned. Show's over, back to work." Tevin said to everyone.

"It is a suitable charge to keep him in a brig while we prove he is a traitor." The older officer said.

"I know it is Admiral. Brains do not run in his family. Ezra here encountered an ancestor of his. By the way, Ezra Bridger meet Admiral Firmus Piett, my wife Kelly who is my second-in-command, Lieutenant Colonel Rex, and Landon McKnight. Colonel Rex is another member of the Jedi Order here and Landon is my daughter's shoe guy." Ezra nodded at all of them and despite being around members of The Empire finally felt at ease.


	3. Chapter 3

**I own nothing except a few characters and the plot.**

 **TROOPS: NEW YORK**

 **A Spectre Returns**

 **NEW YORK, NEW YORK**

Tevin had worked out the arrangements for Ezra and Chopper to stay with the McKnights until other arrangements could be found. Gary McKnight had said that Ezra could stay as long as he needed and there was no hurry. Landon had also given some of his clothes to Ezra so he didn't look out of place on the streets. The first place Tevin had thought of for Ezra to live was the townhouse Max lived in with two other bachelor officers which Joseph Rodgers had nicknamed The Swamp after its TV counterpart. He rejected that idea because Max was still sore over Ezra insulting his intelligence by claming to be Jabba the Hutt. Josh and Landon had dragged Ezra and Chopper off to the shoe store. After a few minutes a large woman walked into the store.

"I want my money back. These shoes split at the sides after one day." She said giving the shoes to Landon. Chopper looked at the shoes and at the woman's feet in disbelief before saying something to the group.

"Chopper wants to know how you got those shoes on your feet to begin with since he thinks the shoes are smaller then your feet?" Ezra asked the woman.

"No refunds when you exceed the two-ton weight limit on the shoes." Josh chimed in.

"Or damage them in a way that's well beyond ordinary wear and tear. Besides that no receipt, no refund." Landon added. The woman huffed and puffed.

"This will be the last time I shop here." She said.

"Weight Watchers is across the street. The only people on this block who will miss you work at the all-you-can-eat buffet. Then again, they'll actually have food for other people now." Josh said as Chopper laughed. The woman stormed out.

"You want your shoes?" Ezra called after her. Landon gave the shoes to Chopper who ran after her. A woman's screan was soon heard followed by Chopper returning to the store without the shoes.

"What did you just do to her?" Ezra asked. Chopper responded with what everyone made out as laughter.

"Somebody's moving a large mirror into a building down the block and she saw her reflection in it." He translated causing Landon and Josh to burst out laughing.

"How often does that happen?" Ezra asked.

"Many times a day. The scam is they try to return Chinatown knock-offs here for a refund that's more then they paid for the shoes. That lled to the no receipt, no refund policy. This store's lifeline is the buffet on the corner. That goes, this place probably has three months to live." Landon replied

"He just wishes that they came here before they visit the buffet. Maybe then they could fit their size 100 foot into a size 6 shoe." Josh added.

* * *

Obi-Wan had called Josh and told him to bring Ezra and Chopper back to the office for what was simply referred to as Jedi business.

"He must have found out about you shoving Titus halfway across a room." Josh said.

"That was self-defense." Ezra said.

"I'm sure Tevin told him that. Not to mention how badly Piett demoted him on the spot for that. He had it coming. Last week, he made Klinger cry." They entered the main room to the area that had been set aside for the Jedi Order ro conduct business. They were greeted by Obi-Wan and another Jedi.

"Masters." Josh said. Ezra looked at the other Jedi Master.

"Have we met before?" He asked.

"In my other form during a past life we did. Anakin Skywalker. Obi-Wan told me the rest of your story."

"Ahsoka told me." Ezra said.

"The exploits of The Spectres are known throughout the galaxy. I was telling Obi-Wan about how you made fools out of some of the best minds the Empire had to offer then. Tarkin, me, Thrawn, and even The Emperor himself. Which is why you ended up here." Anakin said.

"His grandson joined a terrorist group that wants to restore the Old Empire. It's believed that The Emperor is leading them from behind the scenes." Josh explained.

"We are trying to make a new Jedi Code that removes many of the problems the old one had except Anakin keeps putting our rough drafts through a paper shredder." Obi-Wan said.

"Luke didn't make a new one for his Order. I'm honestly not even sure he has one."

"The teachings of both new orders are really varied." A brown-haired girl said as she joined them.

"Ezra Bridger meet Jania Solo. My granddaughter. There's another very long story to go with that." Anakin said.

"So this knock some sense into my brother operation we're planning is four Jedi or five Jedi?" She asked.

"Five and an astromech. You, me, Michael, Ezra, Chopper, and Obi-Wan. We're going to give Darth Sidious another little surprise." Anakin said.

"Speaking of surprises. We have one for you Ezra." Obi-Wan said and pulled a leather case out of his pocket. Inside was a silver badge.

"Mine's bronze. Dad has a gold one." Josh said.

"You passed the same test I failed. Obi-Wan and I felt you earned this. Ezra Bridger, Jedi Knight. As soon as we take your picture, Radar will make up your keycard and ID." Anakin said and gave Ezra the case.

"Slipping Radar a $50 will expedite the process." Josh said causing Ezra and Jania to raise an eyebrow while Obi-Wan shook his head and Anakin just smiled.

* * *

A few days later Tevin had personally handled the paperwork for Ezra's ID and access cards for the building and other facilities to go with his Jedi Badge. Tevin also pulled some money out of his Petty Cash fund so Ezra could buy some clothes and shoes.

"Nobody will question this will they?" Ezra aasked Tevin.

"We've had a surplus in our operating fund for quite some time now. The previous jail administration cut anything they coud out of the budget including properly feeding the prisoners. Last year, I replaced them all with new people because I found out the inmates were being allowed to basically run the place and tried to turn it into a luxury resort." Tevin explained. A knock on Tevin's open door caught their attention.

"You must be Ezra. Michael Myers, Josh's dad." Michael said and shook Ezra's hand.

"Yes I am. Josh has been an interesting host for the past few days."

"The First Order business has had me in meeting after meeting. What has he told you that he wasn't or isn't supposed to know about?"

"There's a daily trash burning here because some wacko likes to hide in it. A weekly card game between high level officials. There's a thick file of family emergency excuses from that guy in the dress. You can get anything from that guy Radar for $50. There's supposedly a combat zone in a place called Russia, and the guy I introduced myself to as Jabba the Hutt has had it coming for years."

"Speaking of which, he showed up the day they brought Ezra in. I had two Death Troopers throw him out of the building and leave orders that he is not allowed back in." Tevin said.

"Why is the CIA interested in Ezra?" Michael asked as he closed the door.

"Does that guy need a reason to go through our garbage and basically break in here? Why do you think Joe made an order that the trash and anything highly classified be incinerated at the end of the day? Joe was hoping Colonel Cuckoo would get caught in one of the fires." Tevin said.

"Colonel Cuckoo?" Ezra asked.

"His real name as far as I know is Thompson. Last time he was here, he jumped out a window without a parachute because he claimed he was The Wind. Another time, he shot a guy for no reason. Then brought the guy here for medical treatment so he could take the guy out to Jersey and perform a summary execution. He dropped the door to the freight elevator on his arm once. We have a file on his antics here." Tevin replied.

"That's just for starters. Haddonfield has more on him. I made a copy of the file I put together on him there, but I'm sure they have more now." Michael added.

"This guy sounds crazier then Chopper." Ezra said.

"I have to go write some insulting and threatening emails to people who we suspect of lying about missing money or their role in a murder." Michael said and gave Ezra a head-slap before leaving.

"Welcome to the team. Anybody who mentions that guy or is acting like their shoe size instead of their age around me gets one." He added from the doorway.

"He gets Max with one of those just about everyday. Now you know why Josh said Max had being given a smart-ass answer to a question coming and where Josh gets his thing for verbal abuse from." Tevin said. Ezra just grinned.


	4. Chapter 4

**I own nothing except a few characters and the plot.**

 **TROOPS: NEW YORK**

 **A Spectre Returns**

 **WILD SPACE**

A fleet of warships had gathered in an uncharted area of Wild Space. The ships were all painted jet black, but there was no mistaking their shape. Star Destroyers. Not Imperial or Republic, but the First Order Fleet. On the bridge of the largest ship, the reportedly pirated Imperial-II Class _Finalizer_ once commanded by Titus stood General Armitage Hux. Besides him stood the Sith Lord Darth Caedus. The two men turned to face an officer who stood behind them.

"Lord Sidious wishes to speak with Lord Caedus in private."

"He probably heard something about your mother." Hux said sarcastically.

"You realize Lord Sidious is the only reason I haven't ended your life yet." Caedus snapped and left to his chambers. Within a minute, Darth Sidious's hologram appeared.

"Lord Caedus, there has been another disturbance in The Force. The Jedi who thwarted my attempts to alter time years before you were born has returned and joined forces with your twin sister and traitorous grandfather. Ezra Bridger must be eliminated at any cost and if possible eliminate the rest of the Jedi on Earth."

"It will be done." Sidious ended the transmission before seeing the look of worry come over Caedus's face.

* * *

 **NEW YORK**

Admiral Piett had taken Ezra and Chopper down to Floyd Bennet Field Soon after they arrived, they were joined by Josh and Landon whp had convinced Tevin to bring them down. Not that Tevin needed any convincing after Klinger presented yet another false family emergency letter to him.

"Why are we here?" Ezra asked. Chopper said something in response.

"Per Master Skywalker's recollection of his past encounters with you and your rebel cell. He said that technically this belongs to you. The person who brought it to Earth was a homicide victim a few months ago because some bigot who is now serving a life sentence in ADX Florence so they can't contact their biggoted followers ever again or be recruited by the First Order had a problem with a human and a Twi'lek having a kid." Tevin explained as they passed a blue and grey ship with red tailfins which was sitting in a row of light freighters..

"What ship is that?" Ezra asked.

"It belonged to Jedi Master Khayman before his death at the hands of our deposed Emperor who is now attempting to recreate his old Empire despite three senior commanders seeing it as a waste of time. We are considering giving this ship to the Jedi Order since it has an attached shuttlecraft." Piett explained.

"The YT-1300 belongs to me although it can serve as a State Department ship in a pinch or be used to discreetly land troops somewhere when sending a fleet of Star Destroyers is not politically correct." Tevin said as the group passed a second ship.

"Is that the Ghost?" Ezra asked in shock as they came upon the third ship.

"Indeed it is. The closest thing we found to a crew onboard when we had to move it here was the C1. Master Kenobi suggested we bring it to the office instead of letting it wander the city." Tevin said as he stopped to open the Ghost's hatch.

"What was the pilot's name?" Ezra asked.

"Jacen Syndulla. According to the droid, he inherited both the ship and the droid from his mother. There was a father, just not in the kid's life I heard." Tevin paused while Ezra absorbed the information he was being given.

"The father died before the kid was born. He was my Jedi Master."

"I believe his name was Jarrus." Piett said as they entered the ship. Ezra looked around to make note of anything that had been added or removed. In the cockpit, Josh was about to press a button but Ezra slapped his hand away.

"Don't touch anything or Chopper gets to shock you. For all you know, you could activate the self-destruct cycle."

"I guess I know something I can have Radar do for you." Josh said.

"You're going to make him an internet dating profile? Obi-Wan is still ducking calls from that one woman who saw one of the ones that were made for him." Tevin said.

"Those were made by Master Skywalker, not me. I actually saw that woman. She tried to buy shoes off of Landon then returned the next day saying the shoes broke when she tried squeezing her hoof into them and that her date stood her up."

"No receipt and a voided warranty." Landon added.

"Elephants tend to do that." Tevin facepalmed as Ezra became lost in thought.

"We were called the Spectres. There were six of us at the core. Hera was our leader. She was pregnant with Jacen when we freed Lothal. Kanan died when the Governor at the time destroyed a fuel depot. Sabine was a Mandaloriian and handled our explosives. She loved blowing things up and painting everything. Zeb was the brute strength. He could take on an entire squad of Stormtroopers by himself. Chopper and me rounded out the main crew. We also had AP-5, an old tactical droid from the Clone Wars who was reassigned as an inventory droid when Chop found him. Rex, a retired Clone Trooper Captain. He served with Master Skywalker during the war. I don't think he was ever told the truth about what really happened to him after the war. Kallus was our one-time Imperial nemesis. Zeb helped to convince him to switch sides. He's the one who put Jabba down as an alias for me. I guess most of his information became questionable after Thrawn exposed him as a rebel spy. The Admiral might know more about that. They replaced the family I lost when Stormtroopers took my parents away and I was put out on the street with nothing." Ezra turned his back to everyone and hung his head trying to hold back tears. Landon put an arm around Ezra.

"It's okay. Just don't blame these guys for something someone else did. The Empire was responsible for my dad dying when I was a baby. He was covering a shift for someone at his firehouse when The Towers were attacked. He went in, but never made it out."

"I want Loomis to have a chat with Ezra for my own peace of mind. He has PTSD written all over him. I just want to make sure, and if I ever catch Klinger trying to run a death in the family hoax past Ezra, I will have him working with potatoes for the rest of the year and maybe even into next year too so he has no time to come up with these stories." Tevin whispered to Piett.

"If it is any comfort to him, whoever gave those orders on his parents may have died at either Yavin or Endor. But given what I know about PTSD, it is a good call. He has tried one or two of those on me as well. I believe it was a cousin who died in a factory explosion on some planet. I wonder if Coruscant might still have a copy of his ISB file despite the information becoming extremely suspect." Piett whispered back.

* * *

A few days later, an archived copy of Ezra's ISB file found its way to Piett's desk along with files on the other Spectres and their known allies. Piett had also obtained the files on Ezra's parents just for his own interest.

"I wonder if Ezra's opened up about this to Landon yet." Tevin said as he read the files.

"That's a good question. Hopefully I can get a good answer for you." Ben Loomis said as he entered the office.

"I take it you got my email." Tevin said to his unit's resident psychiatrist.

"Unlike certain elected officials, I don't delete my emails unless they're clearly spam or illegally destroy the servers they're hosted on. So yes, I got it and I am eager to meet Ezra whenever you can get him away from the McKnight's shoe store which I will not get into the details of. Is that the file I was told may or may not exist?"

"The largely discredited because the agent who compiled it defected ISB file on Ezra Bridger? Yes it is. Along with a number of other ISB files relating to Ezra." Tevin replied.

"As soon as you can get him here, I can see him." Ben said taking the files from Piett before he left.

* * *

Gary McKnight sat in the store with his back to the door. The only person who had been in the store besides him was a woman who stormed out after being called a rhino. He ignored the person walking in until they spoke.

"Gary McKnight?"

"Yes." Gary turned around to face a man he had never seen before wearing army fatigues.

"Name's Carter. Army Intelligence. I want to talk to you about the two guests you've had at your house for the past week. A young male and a droid."

"They spend more time with my grandson then they do with me. Major Carter was it." Gary said misreading the man's rank insignia in purpose.

"It's Colonel. Colonel Perkins, and I can't talk to your grandson because that other boy is always with him. I'm hoping you're current on all your business taxes, McKnight. It would be a shame for you to hear about something happening to your grandson while you're serving time for tax evasion."

"Really, Colonel Thompson? At least that's what Josh, his dad, and General Felth told me your name was. I didn't know the CIA was able to waste resources on non-starter investigations for the IRS or that the Army cared about the dealings of a small shoe store." Gary said causing Thompson to flinch. Unbeknownst to Thompson, Gary had secretly dialed Michael's cell number.

"You realize you just comitted treason by exposing my true idenity. I can shoot you where you stand for that. Treason is a Death Penalty offense." Thompson said and turned around to face Gary with his pistol in his hand.

"I think you'll be leaving real soon. Like right about now." Gary said as a group of Death Troopers stormed in followed by Tevin and Michael. Thompson fired off a single round at Gary which missed and went into the wall thanks to Michael before going down in a hail of blaster fire from the troopers. Tevin kicked the pistol away from Thompson's body as a trooper fired a single shot into the CIA man's head.

"Did you hear what he said?" Gary asked.

"Every word was recorded by Kelsey for the inquiry that's sure to come. As for the IRS, not worth my time or my energy." Michael said.

"He was also warned to stay away from here." One of the troopers asked Tevin something.

"Boss, what do you want done with this trash?" Tevin asked Michael referring to Thompson's body.

"Do they still dump John Does on Hart Island?"

"I think so."

"There you go. Have his papers mailed to the CIA along with the tape and a detailed report of what he did that I personally want to sign. Make sure Wanda knows about this too. I don't want her yelling at me later. Also, run his prints for my own curiousity." Michael said.

"I have a crime scene kit in my truck. Take his prints, get that bullet out of your wall, and get his gun to our lab so we can find out if he's carried out any summary executions that no one knows about yet. It shouldn't take me that long to clean your store up." Tevin said to Gary.

"That's okay, I think I need to check on Landon." Gary replied abd turned to leave before Tevin stopped him.

"Before I forget, thank you. I didn't know asking you to take Ezra and Chopper in was going to lead to this. Part of me thinks Ezra is opening himself up to Landon. They have a shared experience who knows where that will take them. Josh told me everything about what happened when they brought Ezra and Chopper here."


	5. Chapter 5

**I own nothing except a few characters and the plot.**

 **TROOPS: NEW YORK**

 **A Spectre Returns**

 **NEW YORK**

Tevin had been able to relay the message to Ezra that Ben wanted to meet with him through Obi-Wan and Landon. Ezra figured talking to this person was something to do since McKnight Shoes was closed due to the pending inquiry into the shooting death of a CIA operative by Imperial troops. He knocked on Ben's office door.

"Come in." Came a voice from inside. Ezra entered the office and found ia nice couch among the furniture. Sitting in a chair was a man tying his shoelaces.

"General Felth said you wanted to see me."

"You must be Ezra. I'm Doctor Loomis, I didn't know when you were coming so I was about to hit the gym. Did anyone tell you why I wanted to see you?" Ezra shut the door.

"Landon said something to do with my past. Then Josh told me you were a doctor who specializes in Jedi with emotional problems. He said I must have said something to either General Felth or Admiral Piett that gave them a reason to worry about me."

"Pretty much. They got an archive of an old file on you, but told me most of what was in there is now suspected to be false after the agent who put it together joined the Rebellion. I also talked to Obi-Wan about you. He said that you were constantly tempted by the Dark Side, but in the end resisted it every time."

"I was right up there on the Emperor's Top Ten List of wanted criminals." Ezra said as Ben wrote. The next hour progressed with Ezra telling Ben about having to live on the streets of Lothal, The Spectres, Maul, and losing his parents. Ben told Ezra that the person who ordered their executions had probably suffered the same fate at the hands of the Rebellion or the New Republic when they freed Palpatine's political prisoners.

"I'm sure you'll adjust to New York as well as Michael did. It's a new start for you and from what I was told everyone is bending over backwards to make your adjustment to life here as easy as possible some more then others given the recent trouble I was told about." Ben said.

'Yeah, that's how I found the time for this. The shoe store is closed due to it being a crime scene. I heard Colonel Cuckoo finally got what he deserved."

"He's been a pain in Michael's butt for the past ten years. I'm sure Michael was happy about finally having a reason to give a kill order on that guy." Ezra's eyes widened when he heard that.

"General Felth told me there was a history. He didn't tell me how far back it went though."

"There is no love in this building for the CIA. I'm going to tell them you have PTSD, but it isn't as bad as they thought it was and with the right supports you'll make it. Also, you can just call him Tevin from here on out. This place is very laid-back when it comes to military regulations. The only person here who gets full name and rank is Admiral Piett as a sign of respect. If something else bothers you, let someone know." Ben said and sent Ezra on his way. He found Landon and Josh waiting for him along with Chopper.

"I'm okay guys." Chopper warbled a response.

"We didn't see Stormtroopers come over here so we figured that out." Josh said earning an electric shock from Chopper.

"Not funny. Does your dad smack you on the head like he does to everyone else?" Ezra asked.

"I got this personality from him. I wonder if that buffet actually has food today since the regular broken shoe scam artists probably all know the store is closed by now. Probably not. Let's get pizza instead." Josh said.

"They probably all dumped their unwanted shoes on the sidewalk in front of the store. I wonder what the city's gonna charge for that to be cleaned up." Landon said. Chopper warbled something else.

"No Chopper, pizza is not for droids." Josh said. Ben watched the four from his doorway. Then added to his notes on Ezra that as long as Ezra had Chopper, Josh, and the McKnights he would be fine.

* * *

Josh had grabbed Lucy Felth before the group went out for pizza. Lucy's interest seemed to be directed towards Ezra more then anything.

"Dad says there's a long story behind you and how you know the droid." She said.

"We call him Chopper and I just spent an hour telling my life story to one of the doctors. I'm sure Josh will read the story off of his dad's desk at some point."

"Maybe. I've been kept busy with Lightsaber training. You mean Lucy will read whatever report is made off of her dad's desk or hear about it over dinner. Ow!" Josh said as Lucy kicked him under the table.

"If it isn't emailed now that the resident hacker and phone tapper from the CIA is dead." She shot back.

"Speaking of which, he's thinking about selling the store. He's waiting for me to finish school before he makes a final decision." Landon said changing the subject.

"You can always enlist." Josh suggested.

"We were thinking of sending me to Trade School. He doesn't want me in Syria or in debt for the rest of my life."

"He means join our military. As you've seen, we take anyone. Trade schools are good. The city can always use more tradespeople." Lucy explained as a cellphone beeped.

"My dad wants to talk to you about something. You might want to get yourself a phone at some point in time." She said to Ezra.

"Well, we know you're not crazy. At least not to the level of some of our officers. Ow!" Josh said earning another shock from Chopper as the four humans and one droid threw out their trash and left.

* * *

"One of the city's high schools needs a substitute teacher for the remainder of the year and there's a huge drug problem in this school that PD already sent an undercover in, but we want one in there too. I send anyone else, they're probably made the minute they walk in. I send you, it buys me some time. Michael leaned on some people who made suspicious financial transactions to rush the paperwork through for you, It's English and History classes, but some of the kids are real troublemakers. I singled out one of the biggest ones for you. Jamal Wilkins, he's your PD undercover. Don't put him on the spot in front of people or risk having his cover blown unless something happens and you find yourself with no choice." Tevin said to Ezra.

"Can I bring Chopper? He seems to be behaving himself around me and he doesn't exactly get along with other droids."

"I already cleared it. Nobody will suspect Chopper is recording and transmitting data for us. You start Monday morning at 7:30." Tevin handed Ezra a file containing everything he needed to know about his first actual assignment with the team. The next Monday, class was in session with Ezra and Chopper. The first class was about Galactic Events in History. Namely, events leading up to the Galactic Civil War. Ezra knew he would be learning about these events along with the class.

"It looks like this book picks up at the Lothal Uprising although the assigned pages match the Battle of Yavin." He said checking the lesson plan and the textbook.

"Ms. Guzman said she was going to skip over the Lothal part as unimportant." One student said. Chopper warbled a protest from the back of the classroom.

"Did she intend to skip over the Battle of Scarif too?" Ezra asked the class while making notes to himself to check a few things with Tevin and Chopper after school. A hand shot up.

"Is Scarif important?" Another student asked.

"According to the book, Scarif leads into Yavin. Maybe she wanted to avoid this event. They did what to Alderaan?" Ezra made a note in huge letters to inquire about Alderaan and tried to regain his composure. He hoped whoever gave that order was long dead. The remainder of this class went as it should. Ezra skimmed through the material on Lothal and Scarif as well as the details of Alderaan before reaching the Battle of Yavin which gave him some satisfaction in reading that Grand Moff Tarkin had been destroyed with the Death Star. His next class contained his NYPD counterpart who proceeded to give Ezra all kinds of trouble. Ezra in turn used The Force to tell Jamal that Ezra was already aware of who he was and to keep the act up. Jamal then proceeded to strut out of the class mooning Ezra as he did. During fourth period, Chopper intercepted a drawing being passed around the room that Ezra did not find funny at all.

"Do you want to discuss this in the Principal's Office or maybe at a Police Station?" He asked the student Chopper had taken the drawing from.

"It's what I believe." The student who made the drawing said.

"Keep it to yourself from now on, especially around me. And this so-called piece of art that you put on the back of your worksheet that you didn't do, but took the time to put your name on. I'm keeping it in case someone asks for samples of your work." Ezra wrote down the student's name on the list of things he wanted to discuss with Tevin. The last class of the day was his second English class of the day that also contained Jamal who walked in, saw Ezra, and promptly walked out. This time followed by Chopper carrying the offensive drawing from earlier along with a Detention slip for cutting class. Ezra had told Jamal to see him after school to discuss the drawing. Luckily, Jamal did as he was told this time reporting to Ezra's classroom and shutting the door behind him.

"Ms. Guzman had no control over this classroom at all." He said taking a seat.

"They don't know half of what Chopper can do. Unless you want to give it to your boss, I'm turning that drawing over to General Felth along with the name of the person who made it."

"I'm stuck with him in Fifth Period. He made the shooting a gun motion at me and two other minority students along with the student that I think is in this drawing. That student is the head of the school's LGBT Peer Outreach. I think your bigot artist is our dealer. Who would suspect a bigot of being a drug dealer? Nine out of ten cops or Feds wouldn't. You and I can be that tenth one who does. The whole city knows about Pratchard being gay. Let your people scare him. If the school's drug problem is suddenly over. Then we did good for our first day working together. We took down a drug dealer on a hate crime. Wouldn't be the first time that happened. Son of Sam got nailed on parking tickets. Al Capone got nailed on tax evasion. We get the evidence he's dealing in here and he'll beg Pratchard for a deal that avoids a hate crime. I'm gonna go see Mr. Dobbs about faxing this to Felth and getting a search warrant or his consent for a locker. Been wanting evidence on this guy for months." Ezra fought a smile then turned to Chopper.

"I think we've found Spectres 8, 9, 10, and possibly 11." Chopper warbled a response in agreement.


	6. Return to Lothal

**I own nothing except a few characters and the plot.**

 **TROOPS: NEW YORK**

 **A Spectre Returns**

 **NEW YORK**

The next morning, the principal Mr. Dobbs had called the student responsible for the offensive drawing into his office while NYPD Detectives executed a search warrant on the student's locker. Inside they found a bag containing assorted pills packaged for resale. Jamal had swaggered into his first class of the day with Ezra and dropped a note on Ezra's desk of what was found folded up to appear as the homework assigned the day before. Ezra's second day of teaching had gone smoothly except for him and Chopper getting into the middle of a fight in the hallway between students who were claiming to be members of rival gangs each claiming the school to be in their turf. Ezra used his lunch to send an update on the case to Tevin and ask that some Stormtroopers stop by to pick up the gang members who were being detained by School Safety agents after Dobbs handed them week long suspensions for fighting and gang activity. Ezra was cleaning up after school when Jamal stopped by.

"I heard about the fight." He said.

"Dobbs handed down ten days on our drug dealer pending other action from above and a week each on the fight pending other action from above. They're all in holding cells somewhere."

"Your place. My LT's hoping to close the undercover ops here soon and she wants to meet General Felth. Personally, Dobbs said he wants us around for the rest of the year. That includes you too Chopper." Jamal said as the droid made itself known.

"I can arrange that meeting. And I see why he wants me to stay, she completely ignored the roles Chopper and I played in the early rebellion. We were there when Mon Mothma formally declared open rebellion against the Old Empire. Chopper was at Scarif. Before you ask, these guys are The Empire in name only. They've bent over backwards time and time again for me. Everything from finding me a place to stay, giving me money for my personal needs, and landing me this gig. But, I was their only choice for this."

"They didn't suspect a thing. Not even with Chopper in here."

* * *

"Have a seat. I want to make sure you understand you have the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney before we start." Jamal said to the student who had been caught dealing drugs in the school as he entered the interrogation room at the Imperial part of the Federal Building.

"You're a cop!" The student said.

"I watched you for months. Good cover, pretending to be a bigot to hide the fact that you deal drugs. You were smart, but not smart enough once I got a partner with a sixth sense."

"Bridger's a Narc too. I should have brought my gun. One bullet for you, one for him, and one for that stupid trash can of his." The student said.

"You know anything you say and do can and will be used against you in court. Corporal, would you mind securing him to something. I suddenly don't feel safe in here with this unrestrained animal." Jamal said to the Stormtroopers who handcuffed the student to his chair. In the other interrogation room, the two gang members sat across from Max and Kelly handcuffed to their chairs with a pair of Death Troopers in the far corners of the room.

"That narc teacher better watch himself." One said. Max leaned forward. His annoyance with Ezra had turned to a form of respect after finding out three arrests had been made at the school where Ezra was serving as a teacher for serious criminal activity.

"First of all, you two geniuses know that statement will be mentioned in court. So your hopes for low bail just left the building." The younger gang member suddenly became scared.

"I want a deal." He said nervously.  
"For what?" Kelly asked.

"You want someone higher up? The people who give the orders?"

"We'll get back to you. Take them back to their cells." Max said as the troopers prepared to escort the gang members back to their cells. The suspect with Jamal had also become desperate for a plea bargain after the two Stormtroopers were replaced by a pair of Death Troopers and they were joined by Tevin.

"I don't know what kind of a deal you're expecting from us. The people that executed a search warrant on your place just called me. They found more drugs and more hate literature. Including educational and recruitment materials from the First Order. The First Order is considered a radical terrorist group. Unfortunately, the United States doesn't cut deals with people it suspects are terrorists." Tevin said. The student smirked and looked at the glass between the interrogation and observation rooms.

"Tell me Bridger, how safe do you think Lothal is right now? I think Admiral Titus would be the best choice to lead the attack. It's only fair, you destroyed his ancestor's career. Now he's going to destroy your homeworld." Tevin and Jamal looked at each other is disbelief.

"He ain't taking that bait. He didn't take the bait from The Emperor, he won't take it from you."

"Your pal Titus is also locked up in our jail's CPSU. You'll be joining him there. Enjoy 24/7 lockdown while you await your execution."

"You can't kill me. I'm only sixteen and you have to put me on trial first."

"You're being charged as an adult which means you stand trial as an adult and are sentenced as an adult. I think Florence has room for you and anymore First Order agents we find. Lock him up." Ezra entered the room as the Death Troopers escorted the student out.

"I can now prove that Titus is a traitor. It means cutting a deal with that guy though. I'm sure my dad will agree that a sleeper agent is a smal fish when we have a guy who gave an enemy of our state two warships, then lied about it, and finally tried to carry out a summary execution for a very petty reason." Tevin said to them.

"What about Lothal?" Ezra asked.

"I'll see if someone can go out there from Coruscant and make sure the First Order isn't there. Luke has more Jedi then we do. The First Order already attacked a mining colony. I'm also gonna see if Houston can get the UN to do something."

"I'd like to take the Ghost out there once I get a crew together. I think I have a crew already." Ezra said.

"If I were to guess, Chopper, Detective Wilkins, and three teenagers because if you take two of them. Mine will simply sneak aboard before you leave. Radar, get me the information on Lothal." Tevin called to his clerk. The next few days consisted of training in preperation for the mission between everyone's school days as Ezra and Jamal were now convinced the First Order had placed more sleeper agents in the city. Ezra discovered that his old friend Jai Kell is now the Governor of Lothal and that he had become quite the celebrity there. Two Jedi had been dispatched from Coruscant to Lothal and were timing their arrival to meet with Ezra's team.

* * *

 **LOTHAL**

The Ghost dropped out of hyperspace to a sight that made Ezra sick to his stomach. Hovering above the planet were a number of what appeared to be Star Destroyers. A second ship also dropped out of hyperspace and flew towards the Ghost.

"Ghost, this is Jedi Master Corran Horn. I guess the rumor was true."

"Looks that way. Did you try to reach Governor Kell?" Ezra asked.

"Communications are being jammed and now I see why. They're planning an invasion. Now I also see why me and Kyle were sent here." Corran said.

"I'm hoping the Earth approves reinforcements to here. They might get here before our fleet can." Kyle Katarn said. Josh leaned in close to Ezra.

"The UN will give in. Wanda loves using her office to put shady diplomats in their places by taking away their immunity. Or she'll remind them that Earth could be next on their hit list."

"Who knows what they managed to get done in the past 15 years." Jamal said from the co-pilot's seat.

"Landon, top gun turret. Jamal, front one. Josh and Lucy stay here. Just in case." Ezra said flipping a few switches as everyone moved places. Chopper warbled from his station.

"Yeah, transmit that back home if it's not jammed and make sure our shields work." A group of black TIE Fighters approached the two ships.

"Heads up, fighters and they're not friendly." Kyle's voice came over the ship to ship comm. The TIEs decided to fire upon the two ships, a move that had been sensed by the Jedi pilots of both.

"That's one." Came Landon's voice as a TIE exploded followed by a second TIE exploding.

"That's two. Four more coming in." Jamal said as a third TIE exploded under fire from Corran's ship. Chopper warbled something to Ezra.

"Why is Admiral Piett on his way here? He's got what with him? A whole fleet of American, British, and Israeli ships." Josh grinned as he knew what that meant.

"They're coming." He said to both ships as Landon took out another TIE followed by the last two being destroyed. One by Jamal and the other by Corran's ship.

* * *

On the bridge of the Finalizer, General Hux saw the skirmish occur and turned to an officer.

"Prepare to land ground forces and have our Interdictor move into position. Have the fighters provide cover for our landers." Hux was certain his ships could take on a freighter and a yacht no matter how well they were armed. But, he was skeptical they could keep the planet after his father's stories when he was younger about a pack of native wolves that had viciously mauled their way through squads of Stormtroopers and even managed to overpower and frighten a Nogrhi Death Commando which had led to an Imperial defeat. The Interdictor was now in place should the two ships attempt an escape. Caedus joined him.

"Jedi on both of those ships. Two Masters, a Knight, and a Padawan. One of those masters has a history as a one-man army. My uncle sent two of them, but where did the other two come from? I must inform Lord Sidious." He said to Hux and quickly left the bridge.

"Those look like landers and ground assault vehicles." Lucy said to Josh and Ezra.

"And more TIE Fighters too." Josh added.

"We have to hold them off until help arrives. Chopper, jam their frequencies." Ezra said and flew the Ghost into the thick of the First Order's landing operations attracting the attention of the TIEs who instantly gave chase.

"Are you insane?" Came Jamal's voice as Landon continuously fired at the TIEs and scored minor hits on the landers in the process.

"Me or Landon?" Ezra asked as a TIE exploded causing a second TIE to crash into a lander.

"Both of you." Jamal said as Landon responded by firing at the damaged lander and striking a TIE in the process. More TIEs were launched from the Star Destroyers as Corran's ship joined the fray and took out two more TIEs.

"We're totally outnumbered." Josh said. Chopper warbled at Ezra.

"Shields are going." Lucy said. A voice cut in over the comm.

"Commander Bridger, this is Halo Flight. We're coming in hot." Ezra pulled the Ghost out of the landing pattern leading a number of TIEs in pursuit as well.

"Good guys are here." Landon called as a group of American X-Wings flew in causing the TIE pilots to scatter.

"Halo Flight, lock a bandit and Fox Three." The X-Wings fired missiles at the TIEs and landers striking two TIEs and the damaged lander along with a second lander. More X-Wings joined the battle along with a pair of freighters that Ezra, Lucy, and Josh knew all too well. They were followed by A-Wings, Corvettes, and a group of Calamarian Cruisers. Another TIE exploded as the Felth's Pride flew through the fighters followed by a British Corvette and the blue and grey ship.

"It does fly." Jamal said.

"What?" Asked Ezra and Josh.

"The Astro Megaship. I heard it was at Bennett after Khayman died. Who's flying it?" Jamal explained as the Astro Megaship fired at the underside of the Finalizer.

"Who got that off the ground?" Josh asked over the comm.

"Skywalkers did. My grandson is on that Imperial-II. We're going to land on it." Came Anakin's reply. On board the lead Calamarian Cruiser, Admiral Piett watched the battle with great interest. He noticed the Interdictor Cruiser had taken up a forward position.

"All ships prepare to engage. Hammer Flight, take that Interdictor out." He said as a group of Israeli A-Wings flew towards the Interdictor.

"What attack plan is this?" Corran asked as he flew around TIEs and X-Wings.

"The Lando. Engage capital ships at point-blank range and hope for the best." Kyle said. A group of British X-Wings had managed to disable one of the Star Destroyers next to the Interdictor. This gave Piett an idea as he saw an Israeli Corvette take heavy damage from TIE Fighters.

"Something that was done at Scarif. Have that damaged Corvette shove that Star Destroyer into that Interdictor." He told his second in command, a British Royal Air Force Colonel. On board the Corvette, the crew received word of Piett's plan.

"Corvette Three, locked on target. Brace for impact." The Corvette scraped along the side of the ship before wedging itself into a nook.

"Thrusters, full power. Hammer Flight, pull out." The little Corvette slowly began pushing the much larger Star Destroyer into the Interdictor as the A-Wings pulled out of their attack on the Interdictor and began to cover their Corvette. On board the Interdictor, the Captain began to panic.

"Take evasive action! Reverse engines, full power! Brace for impact!" His crew rushed to carry out his orders, but it was too late as the two Capital ships collided ripping the Interdictor and Star Destroyer apart.

* * *

On board the Finalizer, Hux was beside himself with panic. Two of his capital ships had been destroyed, a third was taking heavy damage, and a ship had damaged the Finalizer before landing on board. He hadn't heard from Caedus either.

"Sir, enemy fighters are heading towards the surface. They're following behind a ship called the Ghost."

"Prepare to bombard the planet from orbit." Hux shouted.

* * *

Ezra flew the Ghost towards Capital City with a group of X-Wings behind him.

"Halo Flight, maintain Commander Bridger's Six."

"The one Star Destroyer is breaking out of formation." Josh said.

"We see it, Knights move to intercept and disable. We have operatives on board that ship." Piett replied. A group of American X-Wings moved towards the Finalizer followed by the Felth's Pride.

"Galen, let's drop a concussion missile on their starboard guns." Tevin said as R2-D2 beeped from the astromech socket.

"Yeah, one for the port side too." Galen Marek told the droid. Another Star Destroyer went down under a hail of missile fire from RAF X-Wings as Tevin flew his ship towards the Finalizer's gun batteries.

"Shield Generators targeted 12:00. Knight 1, Fox Three." A missile was fired and struck the Finalizer's shield generator.

"Knight 7, Fox Three." A second missile struck the other shield generator as the X-Wings pulled off.

* * *

"Sir, we've lost our deflector shields." An officer called to Hux.

"Intensify the forward batteries. Nothing gets through." Hux shouted. He knew if he was arrested, he would certainly stand trial for treason. He feared the courts on Earth more then he feared the courts on Coruscant. The Felth's Pride struck the guns on one side of the Finalizer.

"Sir, we've just lost the starboard guns and another group of ships has just dropped out of hyperspace behind us. Same designs as these ships." The oficer said. Hux froze in horror. The New Republic Defense Fleet had arrived.

"Launch all fighters." Hux shouted at his crew.

* * *

General Wedge Antilles was on the bridge of the Yavaris as he surveyed the battle in progress. The First Order fleet had already sustained heavy damage with three ships destroyed and two more heavily damaged.

"Launch our fighters, contact Master Horn to have him come aboard, and hail that lead Calamarian Cruiser." He said to his crew. Within minutes, Wedge's ships unleashed swarms of X-Wings, A-Wings, Y-Wings, and E-Wings which began attacking the First Order's flanks. Wedge was surprised to hear that Piett was in command of the other fleet and even more surprised that Piett had used crushing Imperial defeats to learn new tactics.

* * *

Elsewhere on the Finalizer, Darth Caedus had been confronted by Anakin, Jaina, Obi-Wan, and Michael.

"Jacen, you're a pawn to Sidious. Don't you think he's going to replace you the first chance he can?" Anakin said.

"What makes you so sure about that?" Caedus asked.

"What do you think he tried to get your uncle to do to me? His plan was to replace me with Luke. He could have left me to die on Mustafar, but he didn't have a replacement at the time." Anakin explained.

"Plus, he's a dirty coward. Every time he sees me, he tucks tail and runs." Michael added.

"If you come with us, you have a chance to redeem yourself. I don't think you've done anything wrong yet." Obi-Wan said.

"Do you think Mom would have sent me all the way to Earth to meet up with Grandpa if she didn't love you?" Jaina asked. Caedus thought for a minute, then pulled his Lightsaber out. He then gave it to Obi-Wan and sighed.

"You are a Skywalker." Obi-Wan said. With that Jacen Solo held his hands out for Michael to handcuff them.

"Standard procedure." Michael said as he secured Jacen's hands behind his back.

"I suggest we get off this ship before it gets destroyed." Anakin said as the five made their way back to the Astro Megaship.

* * *

The Ghost and Halo Flight made short work of the First Order ground assault forces. Most of the forces were disorganized after Chopper had jammed their communications much less from the unconventional tactics used by Piett.

"He's back." Was all Jai Kell could say as he saw the Ghost fly overhead followed by the X-Wings. Ezra landed the Ghost at a port near the city while Halo Flight reported that it was clear for Piett to begin landing ground forces to mop up whatever was left of the First Order Army. The Finalizer had been destroyed after Tevin had launched his concussion missiles into the Star Destroyer's engines once the Jedi Task Force was clear. Hux had been captured in an escape pod by another Israeli Corvette and was to be transported back to Tel Aviv for interrogation by Mossad agents. Tevin had pointed out that Hux would probably wish he had gone down with his ship after being put through a Mossad interrogation. The remaining First Order ships had fled into hyperspace minus the ones that were too damaged to escape with Wedge receiving orders to pursue them while Corran and Kyle hunted down Darth Sidious. As the U.S. Marines began landing on Lothal to mop up whatever Stormtroopers remained, Ezra embraced Jai while Chopper and the new Spectres watched. Piett had transmitted word back to New York that the First Order was driven off of Lothal and out of the system with part of their leadership in custody. Celebrations began to break out in New York, Washington, London, and Tel Aviv as news broke of what The Pentagon called Operation Lothali Freedom.


	7. Aftermath

**I own nothing except a few characters and the plot.**

 **TROOPS: NEW YORK**

 **A Spectre Returns**

 **LOTHAL**

Jai went into his desk and took something out of it as he and th Spectres entered his office.

"I was told you had given this to someone. They gave it to me after Ahsoka Tano told them where you had ended up and that you would come back when you were needed here." Jai handed Ezra the Lightsaber he had built after the events on Malachor. Ezra turned it on as a Marine Colonel walked in and then turned it off.

"Governor Kell. I'm Colonel Walton, United States Marine Corps. The last of the enemy troops have scattered into the fields." He said.

"The Loth-Wolves will get them." Ezra said. Walton looked at the two confused.

"Long story." Jai said.

"Very long and unbelievable story." Tevin said as he joined them soon followed by Michael and Firmus who gave Jai a report.

"There are two Star Destroyers in orbit that are severely damaged. The crews have been taken into custody and if the ships can be repaired. They will be removed from the system. I for one would like to look at their operating systems. They are much newer designs then our existing ships. Armitage Hux is begging to be handed over to the Americans. He feels his chances at a fair trial are better in New York or Washington then Tel Aviv. The Kidon Unit is with him right now attempting to extract information from him on where the remaining ships have gone to. Masters Kenobi and Skywalker are dealing with Jacen Solo. It is believed that he did nothing wrong of his own free will except listen to the same snake oil salesman who charmed his grandfather. It is suggested that a meeting be arranged for him with Doctor Loomis upon returning to Earth. The UN wishes to leave a cruiser and two Corvettes here until we can remove those Star Destroyers. Just to keep the scavengers away. Our losses were limited to a minor amount of fighters and the Israeli Corvette that was used in the Raddus Ram on the Interdictor. Their losses were much worse. Several hundred fighters, landing craft, and a number of their capital ships."

"Also whatever ground assault vehicles and Stormtroopers that my guys took out." Walton added.

"As far as I care about Hux. Israel got him, they can keep him. We have nobody they want in our jails that I know of. Unless Governor Kell wants him or he's standing trial in The Hague which would make a lot of sense." Michael said.

"It would be a waste of resources to transport him to Earth for questioning and then bring him back here to stand trial." Jai said.

"Provided that Mossad doesn't plan to carry out their own summary execution on him. Which explains why he wants to face the Americans." Piett said.

"No doubt the shroud of the late Eli David still looms over the agency." Tevin told them. Ezra and the New Spectres had quietly slipped out of the room and back to the Ghost since politics wasn't their thing.

"Do we have a ride home?" Jamal asked.

"Of course you do. There's not a whole lot left for me here. Besides, once the First Order regroups. They're going to go after Earth next." Ezra replied.

"Maybe the execution of one of their leaders will convince them not to. Or the addition of another Skywalker to our growing Jedi Order will." Josh said. Ezra knew Josh was referring to Jacen Solo.

"Let's go home." Landon said.

"Yeah, Chopper set course to Earth." Lucy said as the droid plugged into its socket. The Ghost soon took the point of the fleet heading back to Earth as it entered hyperspace.

* * *

 **NEW YORK**

Ezra and the New Spectres had returned to what was as normal a life as could be. McKnight Shoes never reopened after the incident with Thompson which the inquiry determined was a justified shooting. It turned out the CIA had fired him weeks before Ezra arrived due to him failing his last psych evaluation in which he was labeled a danger to himself or others. Gary McKnight decided to retire and sold the store to someone who ironically planned to convert it into a self-serve frozen yogurt business. Landon's grades were good enough for Tevin to recommend him for training as an officer. It turns out, he's quite good with a gun. Not that anyone needed convincing after his performance with the guns on the Ghost. Jamal was reassigned to work under Michael's friend and one-time partner Tommy Doyle at Bryan Khayman's old precinct, the 2-7. In fact, his new partner Detective Nck Franklin was an old friend of Khayman's. Josh Myers continued his Jedi training between his schoolwork. Jacen Solo opened up to Ben about how his extremely sheltered life had made him easy prey for Darth Sidious who was eventually defeated after leading the First Order Fleet in an attack on the Yavin 4 Jedi Academy. The attack on Earth everyone had expected never came. Ben also interviewed Jaina Solo about the twins' childhood. The Solo Twins eventually decided to remain in New York where they could live normal lives. Lucy Felth began training with a blaster under the watchful eyes of her parents and uncle. Although Tevin privately hoped that she wouldn't end up in a situation where she would need to use a weapon.

As for Ezra and Chopper, they returned to school where Ezra was made a full-time teacher within a week of his exploits becoming known to to city's Department of Education with Chopper at his side. Mr. Dobbs had managed to get the three students arrested in the school expelled. No other First Order agents, gang members, or drug dealers were found in the school. Jamal believed they were chased away by the rumored connections between the gangs, the drug dealers, and the First Order that Tevin obviously thought could be proven in court. Armitage Hux would eventually stand trial in New York for his role in the Attack on Lothal among other crimes and receive a death sentence. Titus would also receive a death sentence for high treason.

* * *

A few months after the failed First Order attack on Lothal, Ezra sat in his room at the McKnight House flipping through a math textbook when Landon came in carrying a large package.

"Came for you. From the Minister of Culture on Lothal. Algebra 2? Good luck. I nearly failed that class, but that was more due to what was going on in my life then the material." He said.

"Gather everyone at the Office. I'm sure there are others who will want to see what's in this." Ezra was proved right as he opened the package in front of everyone at the Office to reveal a holodisc and a painting of the New Spectres in a style he knew all too well. Ezra played the disc and found the image of Sabine Wren looking at him.

"Governor Kell sent me security holos and asked me to do the painting. Ahsoka was right when she said you'd come back when you needed. That Sith Lord who was behind the attack was cornered and defeated along with his fleet when he tried to attack the Jedi Academy on Yavin 4. The rumor I heard is that it was the Emperor trying to reclaim his throne again and wanting to eliminate any resistance he might encounter along the way. Now the First Order has been chased back to Wild Space and is in shambles. I hope they've learned to leave peaceful planets alone. Zeb says Lira San is ready for them if they try anything there and Kallus warned the Chiss about them and who they were working for. A man named Eli Vanto contacted Coruscant on their behalf. He said he was an old friend of Thrawn's and that the Chiss were ready if the First Order attacked them even though their leadership is gone. Some very strange alliances are being formed in the wake of the attack on Lothal. Hera returned to Ryloth to live a quiet life now that she had nothing left. She said you could keep Chopper and the Ghost. I'm sure Chopper will want to erase this message for hearing that, but they came to Earth as a set and you were always his favorite toy. One day, I'll visit you and your new team. Hopefully it doesn't take the First Order doing something to get me to do it. Until then, take care of yourselves." Ezra shut off the recording.

"Make sure you tell her it's take care of yourselves and each other. Ow! Is being electrocuted by an astromech replacing the head-slap? Thanks Boss." Max said as Chopper shocked him and Michael head-slapped him. Ezra grinned to himself as Chopper threw a paperweight at Max for no real reason and then took off with the Corellian in pursuit. This was his home now and he couldn't be happier.


End file.
